THORNLANDS residents used last week's Redland City Council meeting to air grievances about plans to turn two cul-de-sacs into major thoroughfares for a proposed housing estate.
Developer Ausbuild applied to council to subdivide land in Wrightson Road, east of Kinross Road, into 43 lots using cul-de-sacs in Rushwood Estate as access roads.
Resident Daniel Kohler said the 6m cul-de-sacs, Caldwell Close and Whitby Place, were not designed to carry the expected volume of traffic to the Ausbuild estate, which also borders a Fiteni Homes project.
Mr Kohler said council officers had told him and other residents when he bought his Rushwood Estate home, the two cul-de-sacs would never be used as through roads.
"Rushwood residents are hugely concerned about property values, children safety, noise, congestions and current infrastructure to accommodate any future expansion," he said.
Mr Kohler said Ausbuild's application called for residential development 300m from a poultry farm which was not allowed under current planning laws, which stipulated a 500m buffer.
A traffic report of the road proposal, by Lambert and Rehbein, found the 43-lot project would have negligible impact on the Panorama Drive, Ziegenfusz Road intersection in 10 years' time.
"Taking into account the minor increases to the delay and queues on all approaches, it is considered the additional traffic has a negligible impact on the operation of the Panorama Drive, Ziegenfusz Raod, Carlingford Drive intersection, 10 years beyond the forecasted completion of the proposed 43 lot subdivision," the report said.
The item, which was up for debate at the meeting, was deferred after Ausbuild granted the council an extension of time to consider the application.
Also at the meeting, council decided to give chief executive Bill Lyon more powers - this time to decide which parks horses would be banned from.
It was also decided to reallocate $50,000 from a horse and bike trail park in German Church Road, Redland Bay, to a soccer field and associated men's shed, being built in Denham Boulevard.
Both projects were backed by Division 6 councillor Julie Talty.
Wellington Point is one step closer to getting lifeguards or lifesavers on weekends and over the summer school holidays.
Council decided to ask the state to gazette the Point as a bathing reserve, paving the way for the introduction of guards. The move followed stories in Redland City Bulletin in January about a boy who was hospitalised after being stung by an irukanji jellyfish at the Point.
Council also decided to write to Transport Minister Jackie Trad to ask the state to consider a bay-wide transport strategy but decided not to build a road to the Amity Point Basin beach on North Stradbroke Island.
An new, streamlined environment policy was also approved, along with Redlands' Operational Plan 2015-16, ahead of this month's budget to be handed down on June 25.
